'Drew.'

'Jane.'

'Drew, this is Joseph,' Rachel is saying, but I'm still staring at Drew. 'You remember him, right?'

Drew tenses, and I see the realisation hit him. Drew has never met Joseph, but of course he knows Joseph.

It hasn't been long since I've last seen Drew, but it feels longer. When you're dating someone for years and you're used to seeing them every day, their absence becomes a noticeable part of your day, every day. And I think I'm still not over that. Even after everything that happened in London, Drew still has the power to look at me and knock me sideways.

And what's even more fucked up, is that the pill Rachel gave me is taking its effect, which means everything right now seems so amazing. Magical. Wonderful. Like having two of my ex-boyfriends together in a club with three of my fake friends is the most joyous thing in the world.

'What are you doing here?' I say to Drew.

'What do you mean?' Drew says. 'It's summer. I live here. What are you doing here?'

I grin. 'I'm in town. One night only. So who wants to dance?'

I push past Drew and Rachel and heave open the heavy door and march into the club, feeling light on my feet, with surges of energy pulsing through my body.

And it doesn't seem to matter now just who I'm with, because all I want to do is dance. So I give in to the electronic beat and hand my body over to the music, and let it do its job.

Drew is there. Joseph is there. Rachel, Kasey and Abby are there. Dancing. In this strange, flavourless club in Brighton with a smoke machine and cheesy lights and a DJ wearing a backwards cap, and I'm dancing.

Rachel, Kasey and Abby don't take much convincing to get onto the same level as I am. And Joseph is equally as happy to say goodbye to any petty popularity contest. But Drew has always been the sensible one, and I'm surprised he's even managed to make it into a club, let alone stand on the dance floor, awkwardly, with his ex-girlfriend, and his current squeeze.

There are more drinks, and shots of tequila, and then at some stage, I watch without true awareness and see Rachel and Drew close the gap between them and kiss. But everything is hazy and unreal, like I'm watching the world through the bottom of a dirty pint glass. Drew and Rachel kissing seems trivial to me, now.

The night becomes a blur, but at some stage I'm whisked out to the smoker's area again, although this time it's Drew that's talking to me. He's wearing a neat shirt and jeans, and he looks out of place. He would look out of place anywhere that's not a university library, I suspect.

'Jane, you okay?' Drew is asking me.

'What's it matter to you?' I ask him. 'Where's Rachel?'

'They're still inside,' Drew says. 'I just wanted to see how you are.'

I try to focus on Drew, but my vision is blurry. 'I'm fine, Drew. Not that it's any of your business, since you're screwing Rachel.'

'Yeah, well,' Drew says. 'I'm still allowed to care about you, aren't I?'

I scowl at him. 'Are you?'

'Fine, I was just trying to be nice,' Drew says. 'You can go back in and make out with Joseph the guitarist now if you want.'

'I will,' I say, and I head back into the club. It takes me a while to find the others, but when I do, Rachel throws her arms around me.

'Jane!' she cries into my ear. 'I have missed you so much!'

'Why did you invite Drew and Joseph to both come out tonight?' I yell at her over the noise of the music.

'Because I thought we'd have a fun reunion!' Rachel yells.

I catch Kasey's eye, and realise she has something to tell me, so I tell them I'm going to the toilet. As I expect, Kasey follows me.

My vision is still blurry and I can't even see my reflection properly in the mirror. When I come out of a cubicle, Kasey is standing by the sink.

'Why did Rachel invite both of the guys here tonight?' I ask Kasey, because I know she knows the answer.

'You really wanna know?' Kasey asks. She reapplies lipstick as she talks. 'Rachel doesn't know that I know this. She is pretending this is all a big game and she wants to see you squirm. But I know the real reason they're all here. Rachel thinks that if Drew sees you and Joseph together, he'll remember what you did to him, and he'll forget about you, and fall in love with Rach. She thinks it'll make Drew like her more.'

I stare at Kasey, and she gives a little laugh and shrugs. 'Even with you living in London, Rachel is still threatened by you.'

I can't help it. I pull Kasey into a hug, laughing. 'Let's go out there and have the best night of our lives,' I tell her.

The rest of the night is a blur of dancing, and at some stage Rachel and Drew go home together, but I don't really remember saying goodbye. And then I'm thinking about going home to my dad's house, and the thought makes me feel sick, and then Joseph's there and suggesting we go for a walk, and then the two of us are sitting on the cold, pebbly beach, staring into the darkness of the horizon.

'How's the band?' I ask him.

'Alright, love, yeah,' Joseph says. 'We've got a real sound going. You should come hear us play sometime.'

'You ever do gigs in London?' I ask him.

'Could have a few lined up, yeah,' Joseph says. 'You'd come see me?'

'I could be tempted,' I say. 'Your place isn't far from here, right?'

Joseph takes the hint, and takes my hand, and leads me along the rocky shore, then up the high street, towards his flat.

• Author's Note •

Do you remember who Drew and Joseph are? Let me know in the comments if you don't and I'll try to make it more clear!

xx Elle